Trip to Werewolf Mountain
by avaiara
Summary: Alternate ending to season two : Damon has been bitten by Tyler, and he and Elena must journey to a fabled mountain to find the cure. Delena. This is my first fanfiction, so please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own anything in this story. The CW created the universe, and I just play in it.**

**This is my first fanfiction. Please rate and review!**

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_Thump._

Elena looked up from her book. She'd been reading _The Great Gatsby_ for English, determined to at least get a bit of homework done before she had to meet Stefan, when she heard something outside. The sound was coming from the back door, which was never locked—anything that could be deterred by a locked door was not a threat to her. "Hello? Is someone there?"

_Thump._

Nobody else was home. Jeremy was out with Bonnie, Caroline out with Tyler, and Alaric out doing God knows what. Probably at the Mystic Grill—according to Stefan, he'd been spending a lot of time there lately, drinking out his sorrow for Jenna. The past few days had been especially hard for Alaric, what with the loss of Jenna coupled with the fact that he hadn't been able to do anything about it. Elena put her book down and slowly inched towards the kitchen. "Anyone there?"

_Thump._

The knife drawer creaked as it opened. Elena pulled out the biggest chopping knife she could carry easily and slid the drawer shut again. A shadow moved outside, and she flinched, tightening her grip on the handle. Thoughts of Klaus, Elijah, and even Katherine ran through her head at superhuman speed. Katherine was definitely out for her blood, while Klaus was all for kidnapping her. Elijah—Elena had no idea where he stood anymore.

_Thump._

"Elena?" The voice was hoarse and weak, barely audible, but definitely familiar.

"Damon?" Relieved, Elena tossed the knife on the counter and cracked open the back door. It was dark, but she could make out someone in a leather jacket slumped on the porch. "Is something wrong?"

"Of cours, everything's just fine and…" His voice trailed off. Suddenly, his head jerked back and he started coughing up something dark. _Blood._

"Oh my God." Elena stared at the blood, pooling at her feet and staining the white porch red. "Damon, what _happened? _Oh God, we have to get you inside. Come on!" She reached down and slung his arm over her shoulders.

Once Damon was inside, settled back on the couch, Elena knelt down and started dabbing the blood off his jacket. "What happened to you?"

"Leave it," he said weakly but firmly, swatting at her hand. "It's not"—_cough_—"like I'm not"—_cough_—"used to a little blood."

"Fine, but you have a _lot_ of explaining to do." Elena sat back on her heels and crossed her arms. "Did someone stake you? Was it Klaus?"

"No, not Klaus." Damon coughed and wiped more blood off his mouth. "Ugh, vampire blood smells"—_cough_—"almost as unappetizing as"—_cough_—"werewolf blood."

"Elijah? Is he back?"

"Not Elijah." Damon winced. "It was Tyler."

"_Tyler?_ As in Tyler Lockwood?"

"Because we know so many other Tylers in Mystic Falls," Damon said, recovering a little bit of his usual snarky self. "Yes, Tyler _Lockwood._"

Elena looked at him in surprise and anger. "He _attacked you?"_

"Elena, it wasn't like that—" Damon broke off, coughing.

"He can't do that, Damon! Give me two minutes, I'm going to call Caroline and tell her to get over here right now—"

"Elena!" The sharpness of Damon's voice stunned her into silence. "Don't call Caroline, Tyler, Alaric, the president, and _definitely_ don't call your knight in hero hair." Wincing, he rolled back his left sleeve. "Look."

"Oh my God." Elena stared at the huge, bruise-like wound on Damon's forearm. It was a nasty purplish color, and the edges were black bordering on red. The surrounding veins were deep red—the wound was spreading. "What _is_ that?"

Damon flexed his arm and grimaced. "Werewolf bite, of course. I was stopping your friend Tyler from going all wolfy on the town last full moon, and he nipped me."

"Damon…" Elena's voice trailed off as she traced the bite with her fingertips. It felt as if it was pulsing, like a parasite trapped under his skin. "This happened _three days ago,_ and you didn't tell me?"

"I didn't want to know—"

"You can't just _leave_ me out on things like this—"

"—because I didn't want you to worry," Damon finished, cutting her off. "The only person I told was Stefan, and even he had an Elena-worthy reaction."

"You told Stefan, and he didn't tell me?" Elena thought back to what had happened the last few nights. Stefan had stopped by every day to make sure she was okay, and had escorted her to and from school. He'd helped her with homework and let her cry to him about Jenna and cooked dinner for her and Jeremy, and not once had he mentioned that his own brother was dying.

_Dying…_

"Damon!" She sat up suddenly.

"Elena!" He mimicked her urgent tone.

"Werewolf bites are lethal to vampires, aren't they?"

"I guess they are," he said, trying to be nonchalant, but already seeing that she'd reached the same conclusion he was at.

"Damon, are you going to die?"

"And leave you here with no one but my melodramatic little brother to care for you?" He coughed up a little blood and smirked at her. "You can't get rid of me that easily."

Elena shook her head. "We have to find a cure. There has to be a cure. You can't die, Damon."

"There hasn't been a documented cure in the _history _of vampires. Just because you're a sexy Petrova doppelganger, what makes you think you can find something that doesn't exist?"

Elena ignored the doppelganger comment. "Maybe Bonnie knows something, like a spell, or herbs. She's a Bennett witch. There has to be _something_."

"Bonnie would run away with Klaus before she helped me," Damon snorted.

"Damon, as much as she hates you, she wouldn't let you die."

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**I'll try to update this story as often as possible. Hope you enjoyed it! xox**


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own anything in this story. The CW created the universe, and I just play in it.**

**This is my first fanfiction. Please rate and review!**

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"Klaus!" Stefan shoved the apartment door open and stormed in. "Klaus!"

The apartment was empty but in filthy disarray. Shoes, mostly ugly hiking boots, were strewn by the door. The couch was ripped and covered in tears, and the floor dotted with feathers. Empty bottles of beer were littered everywhere, and a half-full bottle of bourbon stood on the counter. All the windows were covered with heavy, dusty drapes, and there was a plain gray cooler underneath the counter. A glittery gold cardigan was slung over the counter stool, glaringly out of place in the filthy apartment.

Something blurred by Stefan, and he suddenly felt himself slammed up against the wall, the point of a stake pressed against his ribcage. Katherine stood over him, her teeth bared, fury dancing behind her eyes.

"I thought," she hissed, her long dark hair falling over his face, "that you were going to kill Klaus. I _thought _that once he was dead, I would be free of his compulsion, and I would be free to go. I _thought,_ Stefan Salvatore, that you were going to keep your word." She pressed down on the stake, and Stefan gasped as it ripped through his shirt and pierced his chest. "I guess I thought wrong."

"We tried to kill him," Stefan gasped as the stake dug deeper. "We tried, Katherine. It was Elijah. Elijah stopped us."

"I don't care," Katherine snarled. "He's. Still. Alive."

Suddenly, she flew backwards, skimming across the room and slamming into a bookshelf on the opposite wall. Stefan ripped the stake out of his chest and sank to the floor, breathing heavily and gasping in pain. It took him a moment to realize that he was staring at a pair of expensive loafers.

"Hello Stefan," Klaus said, smirking down at him.

Stefan scrambled to his feet. "Klaus."

"Thanks for the housewarming call." Klaus sauntered across the room, where Katherine was picking herself out of a human-shaped hole in the bookcase. "Now, now, love, I thought we agreed that you weren't to talk to anyone."

"Get your hands off me," Katherine snarled, pushing him away and stalking over to the couch. She sat down and tightly crossed her arms and legs. "Go to hell."

"So, Stefan, what brings you by?" Klaus walked over to the cooler and pulled out a blood bag. He yanked the top off with his teeth and took a long draught. "Last I checked I'd killed your girlfriend's aunt and almost killed you, so I didn't think we were on speaking terms."

"I need a cure for a werewolf bite," Stefan snapped, watching as Klaus sucked down on human blood.

"You do, do you?" Klaus tossed the empty blood bag into the trash. "Well, I have some business to attend to first."

The front door opened, and a familiar man walked in. "Hello, Stefan."

"Elijah." Stefan glared at him.

"Now, now, I don't want any unnecessary bloodshed here. I am renting this apartment, you know." Klaus turned to face Stefan. "I've got some brotherly business with Elijah, if you don't mind, Stefan."

"Klaus, you have promised to return our family to me. Don't go back on your word," Elijah warned.

"Yes, yes, our 'family'. I'll be a moment, brother." Klaus disappeared down the hall.

Stefan fixed his eyes on Elijah. "How could you side with Klaus? We could have ended him."

"He is my brother!" Elijah's eyes flashed. "He is my family, Stefan. He is going to bring back our family. _Our _family. Is there anything you would not do for your family, Stefan?"

Suddenly, Elijah buckled. He fell to his knees, his skin turning gray and cracking. Stefan yelled in surprise as Elijah looked down at the white-oak-ash covered dagger, prodding out of his heart.

"Goodbye, brother," Klaus hissed, catching Elijah as he fell to the ground. He tossed him onto the couch, where Katherine was watching in horror. "Now, Stefan, I believe you came here for business."

Stefan turned away from Elijah's dying body. "I need a cure for werewolf bites."

"And why should I help you, when you were plotting against me and trying to kill me? Why shouldn't I kill you, right here and now?"

"I guess you could," Stefan said carefully. "But you won't, will you. Because you need me, Klaus. I can be exactly what you need. A Ripper."

"No, no." Klaus looked Stefan up and down, sizing him up. "You talk a big game, Stefan. But you are no Ripper. The Ripper of Monterey is long gone. What I see left is a heartsick fool of a vampire, throwing himself at a human girl and drinking a diet of furry creatures. You are no _Ripper_."

"I could be a Ripper," Stefan insisted. "Give me the cure, and I'll be the henchman you never had."

"You want a cure, you say?" In a flash, Klaus was standing at Katherine's side. Fangs flashing, he dug his teeth deep into her neck.

"No!" Katherine screamed, thrashing against his hands. Klaus yanked his teeth out of her neck, leaving a bloody wound behind. "No, no, no!" She pressed her hand against the blood leeching out of her neck.

Klaus brought his own hand to his mouth, and bit. A river of blood ran from the deep cut in his wrist. He brought his wrist to Katherine's mouth and forced her to drink his blood, as Stefan watched.

The minute Klaus's blood touched Katherine's lips, her wound closed up. In a few seconds, it was like it'd never been there in the first place.

"You want your cure," Klaus breathed, glaring at Stefan. "There it is."

Stefan stared. "Your blood."

"Well, of course." Klaus wiped his mouth on his sleeve and tossed Katherine aside. "But not _your_ cure, I'm afraid. You tried to kill me, you _plotted_ to kill me, yet you expect me to help you." He strode over to the cooler and popped open a new blood bag. "But I'm not completely cruel, am I?"

"You're a monster," Stefan hissed.

"No, no. A monster would kill you, here and now." Klaus sipped blood. "I'm no monster. So I'll give you three seconds to run, before I tear you limb from limb." He turned and fixed his eyes on Stefan. "One."

"Klaus, without the cure, Damon will die."

"Two."

"Klaus!"

Klaus closed his eyes.

"Three."

There was a _whoosh_ of air. When Klaus opened his eyes, the only other people in the room were Katherine, and the cold dead body of his brother.

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**This chapter was really hard to write from Stefan's point of view, and I hope I did a decent job! xox**


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own anything in this story. The CW created the universe, and I just play in it.**

**This is my first fanfiction. Please rate and review!**

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"—and there was this vampire in 1852 who got bitten by his werewolf girlfriend, and they managed to delay the effects of the bite for two weeks." Elena skimmed the pages of the book. "This looks like it could work, Damon."

They were at the Salvatore house, pulling out all the archives of books, journals, and grimmoires that the Salvatore family had collected over the years. Considering the fact that Salvatores had lived in Mystic Falls since the town's birth, there was quite the collection. Elena was poring over a moldy-looking book, reading out loud to Damon, who was sprawled on the couch drinking bourbon.

"And the process looks easy enough. We just need a witch to perform the spell and werewolf blood for you to drink, plus a waxing crescent moon." Elena held up the book so Damon could see the picture. "We could get Bonnie to do the spell, and Tyler could give his blood—"

Damon suddenly sat up, coughing blood all over the floor. "Elena, don't."

"What, and let you clean all that up by yourself?" Elena reached for the wet rag by the whiskey table. "Let me at least wipe your face, okay?"

"Not that, of _course_ you can wipe my face." Damon smirked up at her. "But stop, okay?"

"Stop what?" Elena's hand froze, the rag hovering over his face. "Does something hurt?"

"Stop looking. Trying. Pretending there's a different way this story is going to end."

"But this cure—"

"It's not a _cure,_ Elena. It's delaying the inevitable." Damon downed his bourbon and poured himself another glass. "Do you think I want to live like that? Half-dead, sick all the time, puking up blood?"

"I don't care." Elena threw the rag down and grabbed the book. "I'll do whatever I have to. I'm not going to let you die."

Down the hall, the front door opened, and Stefan appeared in the living room in a blur. "Elena? What are you doing here?"

Elena tossed the book aside and stood up, so that she was eye-level with Stefan. "Why didn't you tell me that Damon was bitten? Did you really think that you could keep it from me?"

Stefan turned to Damon, shocked. "You _told_ her?"

"He came to my house, Stefan, because he was coughing up _blood_. How could you leave him by himself?"

"Whoa, Elena, slow down. I'm not an invalid." Damon reached for his bourbon.

"Look, Elena, I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I didn't want you to worry. I'm sorry, okay?" Stefan looked over her shoulder, at the books and papers strewn across the room. "What's all this?"

"We're looking for a cure," Elena snapped, grabbing the book again. "There has to be one. Are you going to help or not?"

"I already know of a cure," Stefan said grimly. "Klaus's blood."

"What?" Elena's head snapped around to look at him, and even Damon looked up in mild interest. "Klaus's blood? How do you know?"

Stefan told them about his encounter in Klaus's apartment. "Why's Katherine with Klaus?" Damon wondered out loud. "I mean, that ass, of all people."

"She's compelled. Long story."

Elena swatted Damon with a pillow. "I _told _you there was a cure, Damon."

"Yeah, but not an attainable cure." Damon winced as he shifted on the couch. "Be realistic, Elena. The only way we're going to get some of Klaus's blood is if we get it from his cold, dead body."

"There's got to be another way," Stefan mused, staring into the fire. "I mean, Klaus was the first hybrid, right? But there had to be a cure before hybrids. I mean, witches are always talking about a balance in nature. What kind of balance would it be if Klaus's blood is the only cure?"

"I'll ask Bonnie tomorrow. Maybe she'll know something." Elena yawned and stretched her arms over her head. "Is it okay if I stay here tonight?"

"Elena, believe it or not I'll be fine without-" Damon doubled over coughing. "I'll be"-_cough_-"fine."

"Sure you will. I'll be down the hall." Elena neatly stacked the books back on the bookshelf and padded down the hallway, searching for an empty bedroom.

"I know you're there," she said, and turned around. Stefan was standing behind her, grinning at her. He leaned down and kissed her.

Elena shoved him away. "I'm still mad at you," she said, planting her hands on her hips. "How could you not tell me?"

"I'm trying to protect you, Elena." Stefan wrapped his arms around her, but she pushed him away.

"You keep saying that you let me make my own choices, yet you never tell me what's going on. How am I supposed to make the right choice when you're not telling me the whole story? And you going to Klaus on your own? He could have killed you, Stefan!"

"Where is this all coming from?" Stefan eyed her suspiciously. "Did Damon say something?"

"Why is everything always Damon's fault to you? Didn't it ever occur to you that sometimes it's _your _problem?" Elena shoved him away again. "You know what, forget it. I don't want to talk to you right now."

"You know, it's not all me, either," Stefan called at her retreating back. "I know you have feelings for him, Elena. Did you really think you could keep _that_ hidden from _me?"_

Elena turned around angrily. "My feelings for Damon have nothing to do with how I feel about _you _right now, Stefan. Good night."

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**Sorry, I know this chapter was pretty boring, but I needed to end Stelena so I could start writing about Delena...hehe I bet you can tell what ship I sail on. More to come soon, hope you enjoyed it! xox**


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own anything in this story. The CW created the universe, and I just play in it.**

**This is my first fanfiction. Please rate and review!**

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"Bonnie?" Elena peered in through the screen door, searching the dark hallway for signs of movement. Every window and door was tightly shut and locked at the Bennett house, leaving Elena to wonder if something was going on. "Hello? Is anyone home?"

The porch light turned on, and Bonnie's father hurried down the hall. "Elena, it's wonderful to see you. Are you looking for Bonnie?"

"I just have a question to ask her. Is she home?" Elena twisted her fingers together. When she'd left the Salvatore house that morning, Damon had been worse than ever—he'd been shaky and feverish, coughing up more blood. Soon, she knew, the hallucinations would start, and they'd have to lock him up in the cellar to stop him from hurting anyone or himself. In another day or two, he'd be unconscious. She'd seen it happen to Rose, and it wasn't pretty.

"Sure thing, she's upstairs." Bonnie's father opened the door, and Elena hurried in. The entire house was pitch-black, save for a sole light bulb burning in the office. Elena took the stairs two at a time and knocked twice on the door to Bonnie's room.

Bonnie stuck her head out. "Dad, I told you—oh, Elena! Come in."

"What's with the total lockdown?" Elena looked around her friend's room. All the furniture had been haphazardly pushed off to the side to clear a space in the middle. A grimmoire lay open next to three candles, a bowl of water, and a pile of pillow feathers.

"I've been practicing my magic." Bonnie plopped down cross-legged at the foot of her bed. "Dad insisted I close up everything and make sure none of the neighbors see. But ever since I harnessed the power of all those witches, I've felt stronger than ever, and I can't just let that go to waste."

"Is that a good thing?" Elena eyed a pile of charred junk in the corner of the room.

"Well, I've set a thing or two on fire, but it's totally safe." Bonnie kicked the grimmoire aside and stretched out on her stomach. "So what's up? I thought you'd be all over Stefan. You know, now that Klaus is gone and Mystic Falls is surprisingly in no immediate danger."

"Well, that's the thing." Elena twisted her finger around a loose thread in her jacket and yanked it off. "Klaus isn't actually gone, Stefan and I got in a huge fight, and Damon's dying."

Bonnie jackknifed up. "What?"

Elena quickly filled in her friend on all the events of the past few days. "So Stefan and I aren't really on talking terms anymore. I don't even know what happened, Bonnie. He basically accused me of cheating on him with Damon."

"Well, you _have _been spending a lot of time with Damon lately. What's up with that, anyway? Last I checked you hated him. _We _hate him. He's done so many bad things, Elena."

"People change, I guess. Damon's made a lot of bad choices but in the end he still tries to do the right thing."

"How can you _defend_ him? After everything he's done? All the people he's killed?"

"We've all made mistakes, Bonnie! And Damon's _dying_. What, do you want me to just sit back and watch him die? He's still our"—Elena sat the warning in Bonnie's eyes—"_my_ friend, and I care if he lives or dies. I can't exactly abandon him now."

Bonnie pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fine, I'll help. But I'm only doing this because you're my best friend, and if you say that Damon's changed I guess, as your best friend, I have to believe you." She flipped open her grimmoire and scanned the pages. "I've read about a lot of spells and magic, but nothing about curing werewolf bites. According to ancient lore, it's one of the few downfalls of a vampire."

"But there is a cure—Klaus's blood. There's got to be something else, too. I mean, like Stefan said. If there was only one possible cure, it wouldn't be a balance in nature at all."

"Well, I _did_ read about some old legend." Bonnie slid off her bed and walked over to her bookshelf. She chose a large bound volume and flipped through it. "According to some Irish folktales, there's a waterfall in Virginia with the power to cure anything—sickness, injury, anything. All you have to do is drink the water from the top. But nobody's ever found the waterfall, and there's not even any proof that it actually exists."

"Let me see that." Elena grabbed the book and pored over the story. "Bonnie, there's hundreds of local legends saying that the waterfall really exists. We've got to find it. It could be the only thing to cure Damon."

"Hang on, Elena. You can't just go running off to look for some magical waterfall that you don't have any concrete proof of. For all we know, these so-called legends could just be accounts of drunken nights out in the town."

"We've run out of other options, Bonnie." Elena stuffed the book into her bag. "I'm going to go talk to Damon and Stefan. Maybe one of them knows something about this."

"Elena!" Bonnie grabbed her arm. "There's something I need to tell you first. It was one of the legends about the waterfall that I read."

"Can it wait? I really should go—"

"Elena, this is _important_. One of the stories about the waterfall was written in ancient Norwegian. I couldn't understand the whole thing, but I used a Translating spell to get the gist of it. It basically said that the reason no one has any proof of the waterfall is because anyone who can get to the top is attacked and killed by some monster that lives up there, and can never make it back down." Bonnie's eyes widened in fear. "Don't go looking for the waterfall. Please, don't."

Elena looked her friend in the eye. "Bonnie, this is our last option. Maybe you're okay with just sitting by and watching Damon die, but I'm not. I can't do that. He's my friend too."

Bonnie's eyes narrowed. "Seems to me that lately he's been a little more than a friend."

"Maybe." Elena grabbed her bag and headed for the stairs.

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**I've been publishing chapters pretty frequently, but that's just because I'm on vacation right now-so please don't expect me to write them this quickly in the future! As I've said before, this is my first fanfiction, and it feels amazing to know that there's even one person who read my story. Love you guys! xox**


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own anything in this story. The CW created the universe, and I just play in it.**

**This is my first fanfiction. Please rate and review!**

* * *

"Damon?" Elena ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Damon hadn't been anywhere downstairs, not even at his booze table, and she was afraid that the hallucinations had kicked in and he was already roaming Mystic Falls, unaware. "Damon!"

"Right here," his voice called weakly, and Elena flung his bedroom door open and hurried in.

She'd been in his room before, but not like this. Books, papers, and manila folders were spread across the floor, covering nearly every square inch of the Oriental carpet. The map of the world on the far wall was covered in pushpins and sticky notes. The curtains were thrown back, letting the sunlight stream in through the windows. And lying face down on the bed, fully clothed and nearly unconscious, was Damon.

"Oh my God, are you all right?" Elena sat down on the bed next to him and laid her hand on his cheek. His face was unnaturally hot to the touch, and shiny with sweat.

"Mm fine," he murmured, shifting slightly. "Mm drunk."

Elena rolled up his left sleeve, and gasped. The wound on his arm now spanned from hand to shoulder, and had swollen his arm to nearly twice its size. It was black and blue and purple and red, edged with yellow and green. She gently touched it with her fingers, and he cried out in pain.

"Damon, this is bad, this is really, really bad." Elena turned him over on his back and padded into the bathroom. Running a washcloth underneath the faucet, she brought it back to the bed and began sponging his face. "Have you had any hallucinations yet?"

"Nuthin' so far," he muttered, reaching up to brush a few strands of hair behind her ear. "Mm fine, 'Lena."

"No, you're not, Damon. We have to do something." Elena got up from the bed and started leafing through the pile of books on his nightstand. They were all on supernatural mythology—werewolves, vampires, hybrids. Pages were torn out here and there, and Damon had scrawled notes messily in the margins. "I talked to Bonnie, and she said that while she didn't know any spells or magic that could help, she told me about this—"

"I arredy fix it," Damon slurred.

"You what?" Elena didn't look up from the book. Damon was drunk—he'd had an entire bottle of bourbon earlier, probably to take the edge off the pain. "Anyway, she was telling me all about this waterfall. It's from mythology, and there's no actual _proof _of it, but there's hundreds of different tales about it and—"

"'Lena." Elena turned around to see Damon looking at her, his eyes half-closed. "G'bye, 'Lena."

"What?"

Damon murmured something else, but his eyes were already closed.

Elena scrambled over to where he was laying. "Damon, what did you say?"

Without opening his eyes, he motioned for her to come closer. She brought her ear closer to his mouth, her long hair falling over his face.

"Sun."

Elena drew back and looked at him, puzzled. Then her eyes fell on his hand. His right hand.

Which was ring-free.

Then her eyes flew to the rays of sunlight, slowly creeping across the bed.

"Damon!" she screamed, grabbing him and shaking him. His left arm jolted, and his eyes flew open in pain and surprise. "Damon, where's your ring?"

"Jes lemme go, 'Lena," he protested weakly.

"Damon, no!" Frantically, Elena tore through his sheets, searching desperately for his daylight ring. It wasn't on the bed, so she dropped the sheets to the ground and began kicking aside his books and papers. "Where's your ring, Damon? Damon!"

By now, the sun had already reached his face. Horrified, Elena watched as Damon's skin, his perfect, white vampire skin, turned red and began to burn, blistering and peeling and blistering all over again. His eyes were squeezed up against the pain, but he made absolutely no sound. "No, Damon, no, no, no!" She tried to pull him out of the sun, but he was too heavy. "Damon, your ring, where's your ring?" Her eyes scanned the mess of his room. "Damon!"

There was a blur, and Stefan appeared in the doorway. "What's going on?"

"Stefan, help!" It took all of a second for Stefan to register what was going on—the sun, Damon dying on the bed, the mess on the floor. In an instant, Damon was lying on the ground, safely in the shade of the bed, and Stefan was crouching down on the floor next to Elena.

"His ring's got to be somewhere here," Elena said hysterically, tossing a book across the room. "He's gone crazy, Stefan, I don't know why he did this."

"He's delusional," Stefan agreed, rifling through a pile of maps and charts. "The venom's gotten to his head, and with the bourbon, he's not exactly thinking straight."

"Here it is!" Elena triumphantly held up the little circle of silver, buried beneath a pile of library textbooks. Stefan grabbed it from her and jammed it back on Damon's finger.

Damon slumped back, the skin on his face a blistering red but already healing itself. "Don't wanna lif like this," he murmured.

"Well, you're going to live whether you like it or not," Stefan snapped. "So are you going to get it together, or do we have to lock you down in the cellar?"

Damon responded by giving Stefan a dirty look and passing out.

"He's down for the count." Stefan turned back to Elena. "So where were you this morning?"

Elena stiffened. She was still angry at Stefan, but they _were_ both working to find a cure. And Stefan had just practically saved Damon's life. "I was at Bonnie's house. Get this: she told me that there's some mythical cure. Supposedly there's some waterfall in Virginia that has the power to cure werewolf bites."

"Then what are we even waiting for?"

"Stefan, hang on. That's not the whole story." Elena grabbed his arm. "Bonnie said that no one living today knows where the waterfall is. No one even has solid proof that the waterfall exists. And not only that...she told me about some Norwegian story. Apparently, there's some monster that lives at the top of the waterfall, and that's why no one has any account. The monster kills them before they can make it back down."

"Elena, we're vampires. We've fought the Originals, including Klaus. There can't be any monster that's worse than Klaus." Stefan turned towards the door.

"Bonnie seemed really scared when she told me. I was all for it earlier, but now I don't know if it's such a good idea. I mean, no one even has proof that it exists." Elena pulled out the book she'd taken from Bonnie's house earlier. "Look, these are all just ancient myths. Who knows if they're true or not."

"Well, it's a start, and it's all we've got to go on." Stefan knelt down and looked Elena in the eye. "We don't really have any other choice, do we? Damon is my _brother,_ Elena, and I'm not going to let him die."

"Yes, he's your brother, but you're putting your life in danger," Elena argued. "I don't want you to die, either."

He stiffened. "Funny, I don't remember you caring that much about me yesterday."

Elena threw up her hands. "Are you _seriously_ going to say something like that, Stefan? What do you want me to say? That I have feelings for Damon? Because I do, Stefan, I do. There, I said it. But you know what? I still love you too. And even though I feel something towards Damon, that doesn't stop me from wanting you to be safe, too."

Stefan was silent. Then he said, "What if it was Jeremy? What if Jeremy was dying? Would there be anything you wouldn't do in order to save his life?"

Elena stared down at the carpet. Stefan had said exactly the right thing, and now there was no arguing with him. "Fine. We go looking for this waterfall."

"That's the spirit." Stefan stood up and headed for the door.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry it took so long to upload, I was on a plane all day. But now I'm home, and I have more time to write! xox**


	6. Chapter 6

**I do not own anything in this story. The CW created the universe, and I just play in it.**

**This is my first fanfiction. Please rate and review!**

* * *

"Hey Elena, over here!"

Elena looked up to see Caroline waving at her from a booth in the back. "Hi Caroline," she said breathlessly, rushing over to her friend. It had been a hectic day. After cleaning up Damon's room and boarding up his windows, she and Stefan had taken him down to the cellar and locked him up. The hallucinations were just starting, and it wasn't safe for Damon to be out on his own anymore. Also, according to the Salvatores' mythology textbooks, it meant she and Stefan only had a few days left to find the cure.

Caroline patted the seat next to her. "Sooo, how are you? I feel like I never see you anymore." She flagged down a waiter. "Two Long Island iced teas, please."

"Um, you know I don't drink." Elena laughed nervously.

"Yes, but we're celebrating!" Caroline wrapped her arms around Elena in a bear hug. "Klaus is gone, Tyler can almost control his"-she lowered her voice-"wolfy side, and Bonnie and Jeremy are finally a thing. Here's to happiness!"

"Look, Caroline, I love you to death and I want you to be happy, but there's something you need to know." Quickly, Elena told Caroline what was happening to Damon. "So basically, Stefan and I are on some wild-goose chase for a cure that might not even exist_ while_ in one of the biggest fights we've had in forever, Bonnie's against us helping Damon, and Klaus _is_ back in Mystic Falls and hates all of us."

"And it's all Tyler's fault," Caroline whispered.

"No it isn't." Elena reached out and patted her friend's hand. "Everyone knows that Tyler can't control what happens when he's a werewolf. Nobody's blaming Tyler. Damon shouldn't have been trying to get in his way."

"Damon was trying to stop Tyler from taking out the whole town," Caroline insisted. "I should've been there to help. I shouldn't have gone with Matt!"

"Caroline, if you hadn't gone to hide with Matt, you'd probably be in the same boat as Damon." Elena shook her head. "Look, nobody's blaming you or Tyler, and you blaming yourself isn't going to make anything better. Can we just put this all in the past and figure out what we're going to do to find the cure?"

"Right, the waterfall. So you're saying that nobody has any proof that this thing actually exists? What makes Stefan so sure that he can find it?"

"He's pretty much determined to do whatever it takes to help his brother. I think part of him still feels guilty for forcing Damon to turn into a vampire in the first place. He's been living his whole life trying to make it up to Damon."

Their waiter appeared again. "Two Long Island iced teas."

"No thanks-" Caroline started, but Elena cut her off.

"Yes, thank you." Once the waiter left, Elena took a huge sip of her tea. "I think a drink is what we both really need right now."

Caroline giggled and took her drink. "And I agree with you."

Once both glasses were empty, Elena leaned forward and got serious. "So our first priority is finding the waterfall. Bonnie said that there's no record of a location in any of her books or grimmoires. I was thinking that since your mom's a sheriff, we could get her to call around other police stations in Virginia and ask about the landmarks. Virginia's not that big-she's sure to find _something."_

"I'll talk to Tyler, see if he can ask around with the other werewolves," Caroline said. "He's going to feel awful when he finds out that this is his fault, and he'll do whatever it takes to help. And, I mean, how hard can it be to find a _waterfall? _It's not like they can run away and hide."

"Good idea." Elena grabbed her bag and stood up. "I need to get back to the Salvatore house. Stefan's going to be out all day asking about this waterfall, and it's not safe to leave Damon on his own. Call me if you find out anything, okay?"

"Aye aye, captain." Caroline reached over and gave Elena a hug. "Don't worry, okay? We'll get that cure, even if I have to stake Klaus myself."

"Somehow, I don't think that'd be a hardship for you." Elena hugged her friend back. "And I really hope it doesn't have to come to that. And Caroline, one more thing?"

"Yeah?"

"Talk to Bonnie for me? She's not really happy with me right now, but I miss her."

Caroline smiled. "I will. She'll come around eventually, Elena-you guys've been best friends for _forever. _Have fun at Casa del Salvatore!"

Elena rolled her eyes and left the Grill. It was a short walk back to the Salvatore mansion, and she made a beeline for the cellar where Damon was. "Damon? Are you okay?"

"Peachy," he grumbled back. Elena peered in through the barred door. Damon was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling, with his shirt bunched up under his head. The swelling on his arm had slowed, but the wound was still gruesome to look at. His entire arm had turned black. "I look like a hot mess."

"No, you just look like a mess," Elena joked. "How's your head?"

"I'm not seeing things, if that's what you're asking."

"Good." They lapsed into silence, Elena unsure of what to say. Damon was clearly in pain, but in true Damon fashion, he was still acting cool, calm, and collected. It was both admirable and annoying.

"So you and Stefan are fighting," he said abruptly, and Elena looked up in surprise. "Come on, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that you two haven't been talking lately."

"Yeah, we're kinda working some issues out." Elena played with the strap on her bag. Somehow, Damon was both the first and last person she wanted to have this conversation with.

"What kind of issues?" Damon smirked. "Sex issues?"

"Shut up, Damon. We're just...thinking over our feelings."

"And when you say 'our feelings', you really mean _your _feelings, right?"

"What, you too?" Elena slid to the ground and leaned her back against the door. "First Stefan, now you. If you really want to hear it so badly, then yes, I'm questioning my feelings towards Stefan because of _you_. Is that really so hard to believe? Or did you just want to hear me say it out loud?"

Damon coughed. "Both."

"I still love Stefan, if that's what you're asking. I love him, Damon. But I can't deny that I feel differently towards you." Elena rested her head against her knees. "It's just really confusing, okay?"

"Why can't you"-_cough__-_"love us both?" Elena could practically recite the next part. "Katherine"-_cough-_"did."

"In case you haven't noticed, Damon, I'm not Katherine, and she's not exactly the best role model." Elena got up to leave. "I can't do this right now, Damon." She turned and headed for the door.

"Wait, Elena," Damon called weakly. "Don't go. I'm sorry for bringing up Katherine. Just don't go."

Elena stopped, her back still to the cellar door. "You never apologize for anything."

"Well, you're not going to hear me say it again." Damon coughed, and Elena heard the splatter of blood. "Just don't go, okay? I don't"-_cough_-"want to be alone."

"Why?" Elena asked acidly. She hated herself for being mean to Damon, but all the talk about her and Stefan and Damon and just the complexity of the situation in general made her exhausted and irritable. "You've never wanted anyone around you before. It's always been just you, Damon, a one-man team."

"Elena, I want you"-_cough-_"to stay because I"-_cough_-"love you."

Elena froze. There was a long pause, in which the only sound was Damon's coughing.

"Fine, Damon." Elena sat back down and rested her back against the cool, metal door. "I'll stay."

* * *

**This chapter ended up being longer than I expected, but I had to slip that Delena scene in there! It's hard to embody Caroline's bubbly personality in writing, and I hope I did a good job. Also, expect some Stelena drama in the next chapter. xox**


	7. Chapter 7

**I do not own anything in this story. The CW created the universe, and I just play in it.**

**This is my first fanfiction. Please rate and review!**

* * *

"So what's up with the hush-hush meeting?" Stefan looked from Elena to Caroline to Damon. "And does _he_ really have to be here?"

"Stop it, Stefan," Elena snapped, even though she half-agreed with Stefan. Damon did not look good. The bite area was spreading past his shoulder and creeping up towards his neck, and his face was flushed with sweat. They'd practically had to drag him out of the basement—he could barely stand, let alone walk.

But ever since Damon had confessed his love and Elena had sorta-kinda accepted it, she'd found every reason to be irritated by Stefan. Suddenly, the way he talked seemed arrogant, his hatefulness against his brother unnecessary, and his constant self-righteousness annoying. And as her aggravation towards Stefan increased bit by bit, her feelings toward Damon grew even stronger.

"First things first," Caroline said, breaking the tension between Stefan and Elena. "Bonnie has something she wants to give to Damon."

Bonnie, who had been sitting quietly in the corner since she came, dug through her bag and pulled out a small bottle of liquid steeping in herbs. "I asked a group of witches up near Salem what I could do to slow the effects of a werewolf bite." She uncorked the bottle and passed it over to Damon. "This should get you back your normal strength for three days. But after that, I can't guarantee what happens."

"_Thank you_, Bonnie," Elena said gratefully. But Bonnie just took her bag and stood up.

"I'm doing this for you, Elena," she said coldly, "not him." She strode out of the room, and moments later the front door banged shut.

"Wow, I'm feeling the love from that girl," Damon said lightheartedly. He brought the bottle to his nose and took a sniff. "This stuff smells like cat piss."

"Just drink it, Damon," Stefan said, throwing his arm over his eyes as if the sight of his brother was too much. _How melodramatic,_ Elena thought. Damon pinched his nose and downed the contents of the bottle in one gulp.

"How're you feeling?" Caroline asked anxiously. "Any different?"

Damon slowly and shakily got to his feet. The feverish flush to his face was slowly receding, and even the swelling on his arm looked as if it'd gone down. "Whatever Bonnie did to that bottle, she definitely did it right."

"She probably spit in it," Stefan offered.

"Right, now that that's out of the way, I've got some stuff to show you guys." Caroline pushed a pile of papers off the coffee table and neatly set a manila folder down in the middle. "I had my mom call as many sheriff stations in Virginia as I could. I told her I was doing a school project on paranormal activity, and I needed as many reports as possible."

"So did she find anything?" Elena leaned forward and flipped through a newspaper article from the _Richmond Times-Dispatch._

"Well, a lot of the stuff she got back was just the usual—haunted houses, Bigfoot sightings, that kind of stuff. But there was this one report that really stuck out." Caroline laid a crisp piece of paper down on the table. "There's this forest up north that nobody's ever been to. There've been supernatural sightings there for years—werewolves, vampires, even witches—but police haven't come up with any conclusive proof besides eyewitnesses, who later mysteriously forgot the incident even happened."

"Compulsion." Elena took the report from Caroline and flipped through it. "Boyce? Where's that?"

Stefan cut in. "It's a tiny town up north near the border. You think Mystic Falls is small—that place has a population of about 500 people. A lot of vampires stop there on their way south."

"And read this part here." Caroline pointed to a paragraph highlighted in blue. "Nobody in the town has ever been near that forest. There've been cases of people being torn apart by wolves and wild animals, so people stay away. There's not one person who can say they've explored that part of Virginia—well, there are some people who claim they have, but their memories are too foggy and incomplete for it to be valid."

"Again, compulsion." Damon looked over Elena's shoulder. "If there's any place for a hocus-pocus waterfall to be hidden, that's the place."

"Then that's where we're going." Elena studied the travel plan Caroline had put together. "Four hours there by car, an hour hike through the forest…and then _another_ hour hike up the waterfall? Could it really be that big?"

"Probably not. But I'm allotting that much time in case someone"—Caroline's eyes met Damon's—"has trouble getting to the top."

"Please, are you seriously worried about me?" Damon rolled his eyes and reached for the bourbon. "I could probably make it up there before all of you _carrying Elena._"

"Well, then that's settled." Stefan stuffed all the papers back into the folder and handed it to Caroline. "We're going tomorrow morning. Bonnie said that the potion would delay the bite three days, so we'll have plenty of time."

"Hang on, guys." Elena looked from friend to friend. "Are you forgetting about the monster Bonnie told us about? The reason why no supernatural creature's ever come down from the waterfall? Shouldn't we be worried about that at _all_?"

"Let's be real, Elena," Stefan said, rolling his eyes at her. "We've faced Klaus. There can't be anything worse than Klaus."

Elena gritted her teeth together. _There goes Stefan again, being the big, know-it-all protector. _"Stefan, can I talk to you in the hall for a minute?"

"Um, you do know we're all vampires here, right?" Caroline looked from Damon to Stefan. "We can still hear you in the hallway."

"Well, then, you guys can turn _off_ your super-hearing, because I need to talk to Stefan alone." Elena grabbed his hand and dragged him out into the hall.

"So what's up?" Stefan folded his arms across his chest and looked at her. "I hope you're going to explain to me why you've been acting weird all day. Is something wrong?"

"Stefan, I just need to tell you something." Elena twisted her fingers together. "It's about…Damon."

Stefan sucked in a breath. "What'd he do to you?"

"Why do you automatically assume he did something to me?"

"Because he's _Damon,_ Elena. He does stuff."

"Okay, well, he did do something, but it wasn't bad." Elena looked up so that she was looking Stefan squarely in the eye. "He told me that he loved me."

For a moment, Elena was sure that Stefan had stopped breathing. Then she remembered he was a vampire, and he didn't _have_ to breathe. And then he spoke. "What did you tell him?"

"I…I didn't tell him anything, Stefan, I swear. But with everything that's been going on between me and you, and me and him…I think we need to take a break."

"_Take a break?"_ Stefan echoed. "Are you…Elena, are you breaking up with me for Damon?"

"I don't _know_ what I'm doing," Elena said desperately. "I don't know how I feel, I don't know what I should do, and I can't even talk to anyone about it because all of my best friends clearly hate Damon! Stefan, I just need some space right now, and—"

"Well, you're not exactly getting space by running to Damon," Stefan said bitterly.

"—and it's not helping that you're getting on my case about Damon every chance you get," Elena finished. "Please, Stefan, I just need some time to figure out my feelings. I love you both, I really do, but I _can't_ love you both."

"Yes you can." Stefan was looking past Elena's head, at the wall behind her. "Katherine did."

"What, first Damon, now you?" Elena threw up her hands in frustration. "I'm _not_ Katherine, Stefan!"

"You sure as hell are acting like it." Stefan pushed Elena away from him. "She chose Damon, too. But then again, what would I know? It's not like either of you actually loved me. Oh, would you look at that. Another Katherine similarity." He vanished down the hall.

* * *

**Sorry for all you Stelena shippers! I decided that I wanted to portray Stefan the way a ****_real_**** jealous brother would act, since on the show he's always ****_so _****willing to go along with whatever Elena decides, even when it comes to Damon. Besides, jealous Stefan is more fun to write! Hope you've enjoyed the story so far! xox**


	8. Chapter 8

**I do not own anything in this story. The CW created the universe, and I just play in it.**

**This is my first fanfiction. Please rate and review!**

* * *

"Got everything, Elena?" Damon looked over at her, a half-smile playing on his lips. "You know, we might not ever be coming back."

"Nice of you to remind me, Damon. But yes, I do have everything, and we are coming back."

"Did you pack some sexy lingerie?"

Elena swatted his arm. "Shut _up_." They were sitting in Damon's car, parked in the Salvatores' driveway, waiting for Caroline to finish printing the directions to Boyce. Damon's arm was covered by his usual leather jacket, and other than the black stain creeping up his neck he looked perfectly fine.

As it turned out, they were the only two making the trip. Bonnie hadn't been going, for obvious reasons, but Caroline had backed out last minute after her mother had been admitted to the hospital for a minor heart attack. "I'm going to have to stay home and take care of her," Caroline had explained the previous night as she watched Elena pack.

"Couldn't you at least come for one night until we reach Boyce, and then super-vampire-speed back home?" Elena considered a purple windbreaker before folding it neatly into her bag.

"That's too inconvenient. Besides, I thought you'd _like_ having Damon to yourself for two whole days when no one's around." Caroline had tried to sound teasing, but Elena could tell by her voice that she still disapproved of Elena breaking up with Stefan.

_Honk! Honk!_

"Lay off the horn, I'm coming!" Caroline shouted from the front door. She hurried over and shoved a thin stack of papers through the passenger window. "Here's all the stuff you need. The first piece of paper is the directions to Boyce. Take the highway, and avoid back roads because the potholes are terrible. The second paper is your inn reservation—sorry, I could only get you one room."

"Sounds great," Elena mumbled, ignoring Damon's smirk.

"The third paper is a police statement, saying that you and Damon are representing the Mystic Falls police force and have every right to play detective. Don't worry, I didn't even have to compel my mom to get them." Caroline shuffled through the papers. "And the last form is Damon's life insurance policy."

"His what?" Elena looked up.

"Life insurance policy. I snooped. Apparently, he's worth two-point-four million dollars." Caroline rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry, Elena, but your parents never filled out the paperwork for your policy, and Alaric couldn't sign them because he's not your legal guardian—"

"Thanks, Caroline, but I don't think anybody's going to be dying this time." Elena took the papers and stuffed them into the glove compartment. "I'll see you in two days."

"I hope so." Caroline turned to Damon menacingly. "You'd better bring her back to me in one piece, because I know a couple of people who'd _love_ nothing more than to scatter your body parts across the Atlantic."

"Bye, blondie." Damon rolled up the windows and peeled out of the driveway.

They were outside Mystic Falls before Damon finally broke the silence. "So how're you feeling about coming with me on your own?"

"Fine, thank you," Elena answered. Stefan had opted out of the trip last night—also for obvious reasons. Tyler and Matt had refused point-blank, and although Jeremy had begged to go, Elena had shut him down instantly. "I'm not scared of you, you know."

"Well, you should be. A lot of people are scared of me."

"Not me."

"Why aren't you?"

"Because you're Damon." Elena playfully punched his right arm. "And because I've seen a side of you that most people never see. I know you like to act all tough, like you don't care about anyone or anything, but deep down I know you do care."

Damon responded by changing lanes and nearly crashing into a green Subaru behind them. "Damon, watch out!" Elena peeked over at the dashboard. "Holy crap, Damon, you're going 120 miles per hour! Slow down!"

"What, were you too engrossed in our conversation to notice my driving before?" He rolled his eyes and inched the speedometer even further up. "And I'm a vampire, remember?"

"Yeah, so _you're_ fine if we run off a cliff, but then what about _me?_"

He was quiet for a moment, and then he said, "If anything happened to us, I'd save you first, no question."

Elena stared at the window so she wouldn't have to respond. Truth be told, Damon's random acts of sweetness were flattering and adorable, but they made her…_uncomfortable. _Damon wasn't the type to show affection like that, and Elena had no idea how to respond when he made those sorts of comments.

They arrived in Boyce late that night, around seven o'clock. Damon pulled up in front of the inn, which was just a large, worn-down Southern-style house that sported a peeling sign reading _Boyce Traveler's Inn. _"Go ahead to the room. I'm going to drive around and find us something to eat."

Elena pulled the two bags out of the trunk and slammed it shut. "Just as long as your 'something to eat' doesn't have a heartbeat." Damon rolled his eyes before starting the engine and driving off.

Inside, it was dark and musty, and the air smelled like wet wood and dust. The only person in the room was a sixty-something woman sitting behind a desk marked Lobby. "Hello," Elena said timidly, laying down the paper with the inn reservation. "I have a reservation for one room under the name Gilbert?"

The woman ran her finger down a long list of names. "Sorry, honey, nothing under Gilbert."

"Um, could you try Salvatore?"

"Ah, here you are. One room for Salvatore. That's such a beautiful name—are you Italian?" Before Elena could answer, the woman reached into her desk and pulled out a single rusty key. "Up the stairs, and first door on your left."

The room was equally dark, but at least the smell of wet wood was gone. Elena flipped the switch for the single bulb. There was a bed, a desk, and a single dresser. No TV, no fridge, no closet, not even a lamp. She kicked her shoes off and flopped back on the bed.

The door opened and Damon walked in, carrying two takeout bags. "This place is _such_ a dump. Did you notice the smell downstairs?" Elena noticed that he was carrying both bags with his right hand, and he was slightly cradling his left arm closer to his body.

"Damon, how's your arm?" Without waiting for a reply, Elena threw both bags onto the desk and tugged at Damon's jacket. "Oh my God." The black stain had crept up to his ear and the back of his neck, and was slowly spreading across his chest. "I thought Bonnie's herbs were supposed to stop it spreading!"

"It stops the hallucinations and the weakness, Elena, not the spreading." Damon winced and pulled his jacket back over his arm. "I'm fine, okay? The sooner we find this waterfall, the better."

"At least sit down." Elena moved over to make room for him on the bed. "It's a long trek tomorrow and you need your strength."

"Speaking of tomorrow, do you even know where we're headed?"

"Well." Elena ruffled through the papers Caroline had printed out. "The forest is five miles north of town. And then according to some rough maps, the waterfall is a mile into the forest, and at least five hundred feet high. That's going to be a long climb."

"Elena, look at me." Damon framed her face with his hands. "Nothing's going to go wrong, okay? We're going to find that waterfall, I'm going to drink the water, and everything will be like a storybook."

"I just wish Stefan or Caroline had come along—I can't really do anything if something happens on the climb up."

"What could go wrong?"

"Damon, there are _so_ many things that could—"

"Shut up, Elena." Damon brushed her hair back from her face. "Besides, there's no one else I rather be here with." He leaned in and kissed her.

* * *

**This chapter took ****_forever_**** to write-I really had to rush it along, but I didn't want to skip any important details. Do you guys think I should have a Delena make out scene coming up? I've never written one of those before...tell me what you think! xox**


	9. Chapter 9

**I do not own anything in this story. The CW created the universe, and I just play in it.**

**This is my first fanfiction. Please rate and review!**

* * *

"Well, here we are." Elena looked up at the tall, imposing cliff in front of her. "This matches all the sketches on the map, at least."

They'd been hiking for hours. Early that morning, after a quick breakfast at the inn, Damon had driven them to the forest five miles north of town. From there, they'd loaded up on hiking gear and trekked through the forest. It should've been an easy mile-long walk to the waterfall, but Bonnie's herbs were starting to wear off. Damon had coughed the whole way there, although there hadn't been any blood.

"Slow down, Elena." Damon sank to the ground and leaned back against a rock. His eyes were closed and he was breathing heavily. "I'm not"—_cough_—"feeling so well."

Elena crouched down next to him. "I know you're not feeling your best, Damon, but we've still got a lot of climbing to do and it's already past noon. According to the maps, the waterfall is on the other side of the mountain, but since you have to drink from the top this is the shortest way up. But at this rate it's going to take forever to reach the top." She gently brushed his hair back from his face. "Okay?"

Damon slumped back and coughed again. "All right, just give"—_cough_—"me a minute." He slowly pulled himself to his feet, like an old man, and leaned his hand on Elena's shoulder. "Okay, let's go."

Elena bent down and began pulling supplies out of her backpack—rappelling ropes, hiking boots, clips and latches of every size. "Clip this around your waist, and make sure to double-knot the rope. I really don't need you falling and hurting yourself."

"Please, Elena, _you_ don't need to worry about _me_." Ten minutes later, they were both decked out in full hiking gear. Damon tightened the rope around his waist. "Are you sure I can't just use my vampire superpowers and fly to the top?"

"Damon, I don't think you're strong enough to do that." Elena looked up the cliff, shading her face against the sun. "And it's probably five hundred feet up. You'd barely be able to do that on your best day."

"Fair"—_cough_—"point. Let's go."

They were about forty feet up when Damon doubled over in coughs. This time, there was blood. Elena watched as the red drops fell to the ground. "Damon, are you sure you're okay?"

"It's not like I really have a choice at this point, Elena." He wiped the blood off his mouth with the back of his hand. "Just keep climbing, will you? And don't look down."

Elena concentrated on finding niches and crevices in the rock where she could dig in her hands and feet. She tried to ignore the sound of Damon's coughs behind her, but they only got worse and worse. "Damon, you really don't sound good…"

"Elena. Shut." _Cough._ "Up."

When they were about two hundred feet off the ground, they came upon a flat expanse of rock about ten feet wide. Elena flopped down on the rock and wiped the sweat off her forehead. "Wow, we are _really_ high up." She looked around at the tops of the trees of the forest beneath them, and way off in the distance, the curls of smoke that were the town of Boyce.

Damon collapsed down beside her. "Elena…my arm…" He was cradling his left arm close to his body, and there was a fine sheen of sweat on his face.

"Oh my God, Damon." Elena slid his jacket off and gasped at what she saw. The wound was now bleeding at the spot where Tyler's fangs had made contact, and the dark patches had spread to Damon's right shoulder. She fished around inside her backpack and pulled out an Ace bandage, which she used to secure Damon's arm tightly to his side. He hissed in pain when she moved his left arm. "I'm sorry, Damon, I'm sorry!"

He sank back against the rock, looking spent. "I guess I'm not looking too good, huh."

"That," Elena said, repacking her bag and leaning back against him, "is the understatement of the century. How are you supposed to climb the rest of the cliff if you can't move that arm?"

"Elena, maybe you should…" Damon broke off, coughing. "Maybe you should just let me go."

"What?" Elena whipped her head around to stare at him. "What did you just say? No. No, no, no. Not a chance, Damon."

"How do you propose I make it up the cliff, then?" Damon's eyes no longer looked exhausted. They looked angry. "I can't. I won't. Just let me die, okay? So it'll be quick."

"And what do you want me to do?" Elena demanded fiercely. "Sit back and watch you cough yourself to death? Stake you? Or, maybe you'd like me to push you off the cliff, make it a little easier! How can you expect me to cope with losing you, Damon? How?"

Damon was quiet. "I didn't know that you cared."

"How could you assume that?" Elena was now up on her feet, pacing back and forth angrily. "I broke up with Stefan because of my feelings for you, I came with you on this trip, I went against all my friends, my _best_ friends, to be with you! I care about you, Damon. How could you think that I don't?"

"Because"—_cough_—"you never told me"—_cough_—"that you loved me." Damon was looking away now, his eyes fixed on something far off in the distance. "I told you that I loved you. But you"—_cough_—"never said it back."

Elena looked at him. "So all you needed was to hear me say it? Couldn't you _tell?_"

"Tell what?" Damon gave her a quirky little smirk.

Elena rolled her eyes at him. "Damon Salvatore," she whispered, leaning in close. "Couldn't you tell that _I love you?_"

Their lips met, but it was nothing like their previous kiss. Their previous kiss at the inn had been soft and timid. This kiss was full of all the unsaid words that neither of them could bring themselves to say. Elena felt Damon run his tongue over her teeth, felt the fullness of his lips against hers. She cradled his face in her hands.

Suddenly, there was something yanking her backwards. Elena screamed and thrashed against the force she couldn't see, the force pulling her further and further towards the edge of the cliff. But before they reached the edge, the force switched directions, yanking her upwards at inhuman speed. Elena shrieked as she hurtled up the cliff, watching rocks and twigs and ledges whiz by her nose. Then, in an instant, she was lying in a heap on the ground, and the force was gone.

Shakily, she got to her feet. She was standing on what looked like a raised platform of rock. The empty sky above her and the wide expanse of forest below her told her that she was in fact at the top of the mountain. Sure enough, on the other side of the ledge, there was a small pond of water rushing over the side of the cliff. _The waterfall. The cure._

Elena started towards the pool, but a voice stopped her.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you."

Elena whirled around. Standing behind her was a woman, with short brown hair and narrowed green eyes. The resemblance she bore to Rose, Damon's vampire friend who'd died of a werewolf bite not long ago, was uncanny. Oddly enough, she was dressed in a red cocktail dress and high-heeled black pumps, not at all suitable attire for scaling a rocky cliff. And lying at her feet, barely conscious, was Damon.

"Damon!" Elena covered her mouth with her hands in horror. "What did you do to him?"

"It was just a mild sedative, don't worry." The woman had a slight European accent, but she spoke in crisp, stilted syllables. "You're Elena, aren't you?"

"Maybe," Elena said cautiously.

"Well then, Elena." The woman smiled broadly. "Welcome, to Werewolf Mountain."

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**Finally, the cure! Sorry this chapter took so long, but I got distracted with rewatching some season 4 episodes ;) I'm going to try to limit myself to posting only one or two chapters a day from now on. Hope you're enjoying the story so far! xox**


	10. Chapter 10

**I do not own anything in this story. The CW created the universe, and I just play in it.**

**This is my first fanfiction. Please rate and review!**

* * *

Elena stared at the woman. "Werewolf Mountain? Who're you? Why are you here? What about—"

"—the cure?" The woman pointed to the pool on the other side of the ledge. "The cure to all werewolf bites? Right there. You _are_ searching for the cure, I presume?"

"I don't understand." Elena looked from the pool, to the woman, to Damon lying at her feet. "Who _are_ you?"

"My name is Annora. I was born in the thirteenth century in St. Austell, England, and I was turned when I was twenty-four by the vampire Mary Porter." Annora kept her eyes fixed on Elena. "So was my sister. I think you knew her—Rose?"

"Rose." Elena repeated the name, horrified. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry about her death." Something clicked in her head. "Wait, if you two were sisters, how did she not know about the cure? Why did she die?"

Annora sighed and started pacing back and forth. "To understand, I'll have to tell you the long, tragic back story. You might as well sit down, for it's a rather long story."

"But Damon," Elena pleaded. "He's dying. He needs help right away."

"Ah, yes, Damon Salvatore." Annora prodded his leg with the tip of her shoe. "The very Damon Salvatore who killed my sister. My sister, who could've been saved had he found the knowledge to bring her to me. You really expect me to take _pity_ on him, Elena? I know who he is. I know what he's done. And the only thing stopping me from ripping his heart out, here and now, is knowing that he is dying slowly and painfully, with the cure merely a few feet out of his grasp."

"He was trying to _help_ Rose," Elena pleaded. "She was dying, and he only wanted to help. Please, just let him take the cure."

"Elena." Annora took a step towards her. "I see that you can't be compelled, since your vampire boyfriend Stefan's given you a vervain necklace, but that won't stop me from cutting out your tongue to stop you from talking, so I can tell you my story. For the sake of your own tongue, _sit_."

Elena slowly sank to the ground. "How do you know about me and Stefan? If Rose was your sister, why didn't you help her?"

"Patience." Annora walked over and knelt down, so that she was eye-level with Elena. "You'll need to hear the full story, from the very beginning.

"Rose and I were extremely close when we were younger. I was her older sister, and after our parents died I vowed to protect her forever. And forever took on a whole new meaning when we met her. Mary Porter. Rose was twenty, and I was twenty-four. Mary introduced herself to us as a runaway, and the three of us joined forces. Three young women alone in medieval London—you can imagine what happened. A mob of men caught up to us that very same night, men who we later found out were Mary's vampire henchmen. It didn't matter. By the end of the first night we'd known Mary, Rose and I were vampires."

Elena could only stare at Annora, watch the sadness that flickered in her eyes as she spoke.

"Rose and I managed as vampires. We were especially good at controlling the bloodlust, preferring to prey on woodland animals rather than humans. Rose eventually fell in love with one of Mary's henchmen, a vampire named Trevor, who stuck by her side even when Mary left England. She, Trevor, and I all settled down in a home together, and we lived, undetected by vampire hunters. You must understand, Elena, that the hunt for vampires was especially intense during the medieval years, and it was considered an incredible success to not be found out by one. We were content for years, until our lives crossed with that of Katerina Petrova's."

Here, Annora's eyes turned dark, and she practically spit out Katherine's name.

"Had I been home at the time, I would have kept Katerina under lock and key until I could turn her over to Klaus. But Rose was the one in the cottage when Trevor brought Katerina home. She showed mercy to Katerina by allowing her to drink her blood, not realizing that she was giving Katerina a chance to turn herself into a vampire. And when Katerina did turn, and was no longer the doppelganger Klaus required for his sacrifice, Rose knew she and Trevor were to blame. My sister fled that very night, and I never saw her again."

Annora's voice was bitter, and Elena could hear the sorrow flooding through with her words.

"After Rose and Trevor left, I knew I had to go as well. There was no way of convincing Klaus that I hadn't been a part of Rose's actions, and he would kill me if he found me. There was nowhere in Europe that I could hide, so I fled to the New World, not knowing what to expect. I did not expect an eradicated village of vampires, the village Klaus and his family had once been part of, and I certainly did not expect werewolves to be running rampant. They were impossible to avoid, and that was when I got the bite."

"You were _bitten?_" Elena stared at her. "So how did you find the waterfall?"

"You misunderstand me, Elena. I _created_ the waterfall." Annora gestured at the flowing pool of water. "After I was bitten, I knew I was going to die. I couldn't have that, I wasn't ready to die. So I sought out the witch Ayana. Ayana took me to this mountain, the mountain she called _Wahyah Odalv, _or Werewolf Mountain. She placed a spell on the pool of water, and gave it the power to cure werewolf bites. But you see, witches are all about balances in nature, and Ayana's gift came with a price.

"As the first vampire to drink from the pool, I was cursed by Ayana's spell. The curse forces me to drink from this pool, once a day, or else I will die. That is why I do not leave this place, Elena, or risk not being able to make it back in time for my drink. As I result, I employ henchmen—vampires who I allow to be cured, so in return they do my dirty work. When I received news from one of my men that my sister had been bitten, I gave him word to bring her to this mountain. Unfortunately, he could not make it to her in time, and she died at Damon's hands."

"Wait. You said vampires you _allow_ to be cured. Why do they need your permission? Can't they just drink if they want to?"

"Elena, this waterfall belongs to me." Annora smirked at her. "I alone know the only way a vampire can be cured by its waters. It is much more complicated than just taking a drink of the water. You see, none of the other vampires were smart enough to figure out the solution, and as a result they died atop this mountain and were unable to spread word of the waterfall. In fact, the reason I have allowed you and your Salvatore friend to live is because I would like to know how you two came across the solution."

"What solution?" Elena looked at her, confused.

"Do not play dumb with me!" Annora snapped. "I ask you again: who told you of the solution? Why did you come along?"

"I don't know what you're talking about! I only came with Damon because he wasn't strong enough to make the trip on his own, and I want to save him as much as he wants to save himself."

"Coincidence, then." Annora began pacing again. "But I do not believe that for a second."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"No other vampire, in the five hundred years I have lived here, has brought a human companion with him or her. That is their downfall. You see, the water here may only be touched by a human—and me, of course. A human being must scoop the water from the pool and allow the vampire to drink from it. Otherwise, the vampire finds himself unable to even come within a foot of the pool. Ayana made quite sure of that."

"So you're saying," Elena said, trying to keep up, "that if I hadn't come along, Damon wouldn't have been able to take the cure, and he would have died?"

"That is exactly what I am saying, Elena." Annora's eyes flashed. "And that is exactly why you must die."

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**I finally got to write Annora's story! :D That's basically the moment I've been waiting for this entire time. That and Delenaaa... I wrote the story as accurately as possible, even using TVD Wiki :) hope you guys enjoy! xox **


	11. Chapter 11

**I do not own anything in this story. The CW created the universe, and I just play in it.**

**This is my first fanfiction. Please rate and review!**

* * *

Elena sat, numb, in shock. "You're…you're going to kill me?"

"Perhaps." Annora looked bored as she surveyed her fingernails. "I can't allow you to live, of course—that'd just cause unnecessary problems. But I might keep you alive just long enough for you to watch your friend here die. Judging by his symptoms, he's only got a day or two left."

Damon was stirring now. The black stain was now covering his whole neck and peeking out underneath his right sleeve. His skin was slowly turning gray. Annora was right—he was on the verge of dying. "Please don't let him die," Elena begged. "Please, I'll do anything. Just let me help him, and then you can do whatever you want to me."

"How noble of you, Elena, sacrificing yourself for _him_. How can you stand to look at him? He's a murderer, and deserves to die." Annora surveyed Damon with a look of disgust on her face.

"You're no better," Elena snapped back, firing up with anger. "Who knows how many vampires you've watched die, because you wouldn't help them take the cure. That's just as bad as murdering them."

"Correct, but incorrect. It is true that I have watched dozens and dozens of vampires die and done nothing to aid them, but I was not the one who carried out their death. I did not stake their hearts as they laid on their deathbed, as one of us here did."

"He was trying to help Rose! He wanted to make her death as quick and painless as possible. Wouldn't you have done the same?"

"What I would have _done_, Elena," Annora snarled, whirling around to face her, "was bring my sister to this mountain so that I could save her life. Your friends were able to locate this mountain when trying to save this Salvatore, so why not for Rose? Did you not care for her life? Or did your hatred for Katerina stop you from saving the woman who helped her?"

"_Please_, Annora," Elena sobbed, crouching down beside Damon and cradling his face in her hands. "Don't let him die. Please don't let him die."

"I'm sorry," Annora said coldly, crossing her arms and staring down at Damon disdainfully. "But your Salvatore friend's fate was sealed the minute he drove that stake into my sister." She turned and walked to the other side of the ledge, staring out over the treetops.

Hours passed, and Annora did not move from her spot. The sun began to set over the horizon, bathing the valley and forest in soft golden light. Damon was now fully conscious, and though weak and sick, he was able to speak. "Elena," he said softly, reaching for her hand. "Go."

Elena held his hand tightly. "I'm not leaving you here alone, Damon."

"She's going to kill you." He coughed dryly—there wasn't any blood, which Elena took for being worse. "Get out while you still can."

"What part of _I'm not leaving you_ do you not understand?" Elena brushed his hair out of his eyes. "So just shut up and save your strength."

The sun sank lower and lower in the sky, and finally Annora spoke. "It is time for me to take my drink." She strode over to the pool of water, knelt down, and swallowed water from her cupped hand. "As I told you before, Elena, I must drink from this pool every day in order to survive. I cannot leave this mountain for longer than a few hours, so I employ henchmen, whose lives I have saved, to do my dirty work. They should be arriving any minute now."

As if on cue, there was a scuffling on the other edge of the mountaintop, and a man pulled himself over the ledge. He wore a beaten-up leather jacket, and heavy hiking clogs. "Miss Annora," he said with the air of utmost respect, kneeling before her. "I have news from Mystic Falls."

Elena looked up, surprised.

"Go on, then, Rufus," Annora said impatiently.

"Stefan Salvatore has been repeatedly going to the hybrid Klaus's residence—I tailed him for four hours today. The other Petrova doppelganger is still there, under Klaus's compulsion, and she and Stefan spoke briefly each time. Meanwhile, I spotted Caroline Forbes with the werewolf Tyler Lockwood, but they did nothing out of the ordinary. Finally, the witch Bonnie Bennett has been at her residence all day, which is made to look as if nobody is home."

"You've been following my friends all day?" Elena exclaimed, outraged.

Rufus smirked at her. "Just doing my job, miss."

"Thank you, Rufus." Annora patted him on the head as if he were a dog. "Nothing unusual in the report, then. Now, I have business to attend to in Boyce, so I require you to stay here and keep an eye on Elena and her friend. Make sure she is to go nowhere near the pool—kill her if she does—and that her friend Damon does not leave this mountaintop, though I doubt he has even the strength to stand up. I should be back in an hour, if not less."

"Yes, Miss Annora." Rufus saluted her politely, and she disappeared over the side of the mountain.

Elena stood up, but Rufus was at her side in an instant. "Don't be getting any funny ideas, Miss Gilbert. You heard Miss Annora—I have instructions to kill you if you do."

"I can't even stretch my legs?" Elena snapped, annoyed. Rufus watched her closely until she sat back down. He shrugged, and turned away.

"Elena," Damon whispered. "You have to go, now."

Elena checked to make sure that Rufus wasn't eavesdropping—he was listening to a song on an iPod—and pressed a finger against Damon's lips. "Didn't we have an agreement about you not talking?"

"I'm going to die, anyway." Damon coughed, and his throat sounded like sandpaper and gravel rubbing together. "You might as well save yourself."

"I'm going to come up with a plan, Damon. We're going to get out of here alive." Elena studied the pool, gleaming at the other edge of the cliff.

"Run, Elena."

"Damon, the cure is literally _right in front of us. _You just need one sip of that water."

"It's too risky," Damon argued hoarsely. "That douchebag will kill you."

"If only I could taint that water somehow," Elena said, thinking out loud. "Remember what Annora said? If she doesn't drink the water, she'll die."

Damon's eyes were half-closed, but at Elena's words they flew open. "Elena," he muttered. "Left pocket."

"What?" Elena slid her hand into the left pocket of his leather jacket. Her fingers closed around something small and round. "What's this?"

"_Shhh,_" Damon hissed. "Douchebag." But Rufus was still jamming away on his iPod, bobbing his head to the music.

Elena slipped the object out of Damon's pocket, and examined it in the dim lighting. It was a glass capsule, filled with a yellowish-brownish liquid. There was a worn label printed on the capsule, and Elena squinted to read what was printed on it.

_Werewolf venom._

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**I would've posted this chapter sooner, but I was gone all day hiking, so sorry about that! Fun fact, the name ****_Annora_**** is old English for "honor". I've gotten over 1,000 views on this story already, which may not seem like a lot to you fanfic veterans but is a heck of a lot to me! Hope you're enjoying so far xox**


	12. Chapter 12

**I do not own anything in this story. The CW created the universe, and I just play in it.**

**This is my first fanfiction. Please rate and review!**

* * *

The plan was simple. The only problem was waiting for the right moment to execute it.

Annora, as it turned out, stayed out all night. Rufus obediently stayed up on the mountain, but Elena could tell he was annoyed that his boss had stuck him with babysitting duty. He paced up and down in front of the pool, muttering to himself, but he didn't take out his iPod headphones, giving Elena and Damon plenty of time to talk.

Damon eventually fell asleep as the night worn on, but he woke up in the morning shivering with a fever. The black stain was now completely covering his chest and both his arms, and there was black webbing under his eyes from thirst. With no first-aid kit, no food, and no water, Elena did her best to keep him comfortable, but it wasn't enough by a long shot. He was dying, and it was only a matter of what killed him first—the werewolf bite, or hunger.

"Damon," Elena whispered, stroking his hair. "You need to feed, or else you're going to die."

"I'm already dying," he croaked back. His voice was barely audible. "Leave, Elena."

"Oh, just shut up," she said, rolling back her sleeve. She held her wrist up to Damon's mouth. "Drink."

"What?" He weakly batted her arm away. "I can't drink your blood."

"You don't have a choice." She pushed her wrist up against his mouth again. "Drink."

"No."

"Why are you so _stubborn?_" Elena snapped. "Drink, or else I'll run towards the waterfall and Rufus'll kill me. Would you rather just _drink,_ or watch me die?"

Damon glared at her, but his thirst took over and he reluctantly bit down on her wrist. Elena felt his sharp fangs pierce her skin, felt the blood flow out of her arm, and relaxed, stroking Damon's hair as he fed. When he was finally finished, she felt light-headed but relieved that she'd delayed his dying by a little bit.

"Elena." Damon pointed to the drops of blood, still leeching out of her hand. "It's still bleeding."

"Shhh, it's fine." Elena ripped a strip of fabric off the bottom of her shirt and wrapped it around the two little puncture points. "Now just rest."

The sun was high in the sky by the time Annora returned. She held two large paper bags under one arm, and a compelled woman under the other. "Rufus, you're free to go now."

Rufus saluted her and disappeared over the edge of the cliff.

"Elena, these are for you." Annora dropped the two paper bags in front of her. Elena dug through them—there was food, water, even a change of clothes. "I am, if nothing else, a hospitable host."

"You're a monster," Elena said angrily.

"Well, yes, I am, but so is your friend over there." Annora led the compelled woman over to where they were sitting and sat her down. "Speaking of Damon, I see he fed on you." She gestured to the makeshift bandage, wrapped around Elena's wrist.

"Yes, he did, because he was dying," Elena replied defiantly.

"Well, he'll die anyway, so it is not a big concern." Annora grabbed the compelled woman's arm and yanked her cloesr. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a meal to eat." She sank her fangs into the woman's neck, and hungrily drank her blood.

Elena watched, horrified, as Annora drained the woman of every last drop of blood. "You look shocked, Elena," Annora said nonchalantly as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "But there is no reason to be. You know why I cannot have a human survive on top of this mountain—she was dead the second she set foot here." She casually tossed the woman's body over the cliff, and Elena winced when she heard the sickening _thud_.

"Now, to get on with business." Annora stood, brushed off her dress, and strode over to where Damon was laying, cushioned by Elena's new sleeping bag. "I see that the blackness has spread enormously. It is only a matter of hours now."

"Why do you have to be so _selfish_ about your cure?" Elena burst out angrily. "Do you know how many lives you could have saved?"

"Lives? Elena, dear, vampires are not _alive. _They are already dead. I merely stopped them from escaping their fate." Annora nudged Damon's arm with the toe of her shoe. "And I am not selfish. Had Damon not had the history he does, I might've let him survive. He is young and strong—he would have made an excellent henchman. Too bad he killed my sister." Annora looked at Damon with pity. "It is truly too bad."

Elena seized her chance. As Annora stood over Damon, she scrambled to her feet and dashed towards the pool. She was _inches _away when something heavy and rock-solid wrapped around her neck and reeled her backwards.

"Did you really think you could outsmart me?" Annora hissed, tightening her arm around Elena's throat. "Is your death wish really so bad? Do you not recall me saying that if you attempted to touch the waterfall, you would die?"

Elena dug her hand into her pocket and yanked out the tiny capsule of werewolf venom. She held it precariously over the pool of water. "Do it," she said. "Go ahead, kill me. But while you're snapping my neck, I'll drop this into your precious waterfall. It'll poison it forever."

Annora froze. "You wouldn't dare."

"I would." Elena was nearly shaking with terror, but she stood her ground. "If I drop this, what happens to you? You won't be able to drink this water without poisoning yourself, and then what? Your cure is gone."

"Your friend Damon will die." Annora reached for the venom in Elena's hand, but Elena stretched her arm just out of Annora's reach.

"You've already made it pretty clear he's dead anyway." Annora's arm was now tightly clenched around her neck, and Elena was gasping for breath. "Let him take the cure, and I promise we'll never come back. You'll never see either of us again."

"I can stop you. I can break your neck and catch that vial before it falls. I am a vampire, Elena, not an inferior human like you!"

"Take your chances, then," Elena wheezed, dangling the vial over the pool. "Go ahead, risk your life on it."

Annora's arm tightened, and for a minute Elena's vision was clouded with black spots. But then her arm was gone, and Elena sank to the ground, coughing and choking for air. Annora towered over her, her face livid with anger. "I should kill you, right now."

Elena said nothing, only held the cure over the pool in an unspoken threat.

"I should kill you," Annora repeated, her eyes blazing with fury. "But I won't. Because as much as I would love to snap your neck, feel your bones break under my hand. I should kill you, Elena Gilbert. I _want_ to kill you."

"Go ahead then," Elena gasped. "Do it. See what happens."

Annora took a step forward. "Sometimes, Elena, you should be a little more careful with your words."

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**I feel like I really rushed this chapter but at the same time I'm happy with how it turned out... Hope you guys liked it! xox**


	13. Chapter 13

**I do not own anything in this story. The CW created the universe, and I just play in it.**

**This is my first fanfiction. Please rate and review!**

* * *

Elena was shaking with terror, looking up at Annora. "If you kill me, you'll die too."

"That is the problem, Elena," Annora said, eerily calm. She began pacing up and down in front of Elena, almost talking to herself. "You see, I value my life much more than I do yours, or your friend's. And because of that, I cannot kill you and put my life on the line. But at the same time, I cannot allow you to live."

"What's so wrong about allowing others to find the cure?" Elena demanded. "Why do you have to be so selfish about it?"

"It is _my_ cure, and mine alone," Annora snapped. "Do you know how many would flock here if they knew there was a cure for werewolf bites? Do you not understand what would happen? The town of Boyce, as much a home to me as this mountain, would become a feeding ground. Werewolves would forever threaten this place, seeking to destroy the cure. The balance between supernatural creatures would be completely overthrown. The witch Ayana knew very well what she was doing when she placed the spell on the pool, Elena. The water supply here is not infinite—eventually, it will dry out, and what of me then? This pool is not just a werewolf cure. It is my lifeline."

"Then at least allow Damon to take the cure," Elena pleaded. "I promise, we won't tell anyone about it. Just save his life, please."

"And why should I save him?" Annora spat, turning to look at Damon with disgust. "He is like all the others who came here, if not worse. He killed Rose, the only family I have left. How would _you_ feel, Elena, if he killed Jeremy?"

"He did kill Jeremy!" shouted Elena. "And even though my brother came back to life, I hated Damon so much. I hated him for a long time after that. But you know what, Annora? Damon was helping Rose. You weren't there—you didn't see how much pain she was in. She _asked_ Damon to end the pain, to help her find peace. Why can't you understand that?"

"She was still my sister," Annora said softly but fiercely. "And maybe his intentions were good, and it was what she wanted, but I cannot sympathize with him. I have made up my mind, and I will watch him die."

"Then you'll die too," Elena said, her anger and frustration of the past day bubbling up to the top. "Because if you don't let me help Damon, I _will_ drop the venom into the pool. How long do you think it'll take for Ayana's spell to kill you? A day, maybe two? I hope your skin shrivels up, Annora. I hope it feels like you've been staked a thousand times. I hope you feel the pain of every vampire you've watched die, I hope you relive it all ten times over. And maybe I'll be dead by then, and maybe Damon will be too, but at least we'll both go knowing that you died just as painfully as we did."

Annora's eyes were gleaming with hatred, and her voice was low when she spoke. "I have not seen this side of you, Elena, and maybe it is for the better. You are playing a very dangerous game."

Elena dangled the venom over the pool, an unspoken threat.

"Consider yourself lucky. I do not often show mercy, but you have tested my hand." Annora strode over to where Damon was laying and started dragging him over. "I will allow Damon one drink of the cure. One drink, and one drink only. Should you spill the cure, or should he refuse to take it for any reason, you will not get a second chance. After he takes it, I will allow you three seconds to leave this place, or I will rip your heart from your chest." She leaned in close to Damon's ear. "You understand? Three seconds, and three seconds only."

Damon was barely conscious, but he nodded.

"Elena, know that you have made an enemy of me. Should any of your friends return, asking for my help, I will not hesitate to kill them on the spot."

Elena swallowed hard. "Understood."

"Very well. And in exchange for my graciousness, sparing you and your friend, I demand the venom." Annora held out her hand. "Now."

"How do I know you won't go back on your word once you have the venom?"

"I am a woman of honor, Elena. I would rather die than go back on my word."

Elena looked at Damon, who was still slumped on the ground. "Fine." She slapped the capsule into Annora's hand.

"Remember, Elena. One sip, and one sip only."

Elena grabbed Damon's jacket and hauled him over to the pool. "Damon, come on, stay with me," she murmured, dipping her hands into the water. It was unnaturally cold, despite the fact that the sun was high in the sky. "Come on, Damon, stay awake, come _on_." She cupped her hands and slowly poured the water into his open mouth. "Please, please work."

Damon coughed and choked, but he swallowed the water. He sat up suddenly. The black was receding from his face and neck, and he was, almost visibly, regaining his strength. "Elena?"

"He is cured," Annora said shortly. "Remember, Elena, that I have no desire to see anyone associated with you, ever again. I will count to three, and you will be gone or dead."

"Damon, how are we going to get off?" Elena glanced around—they were nearly five hundred feet in the air, with rocky cliffs on each side. "Damon…"

"One."

"Damon!"

"Two."

"Elena." Damon's voice was hoarse but stronger than it'd been in days. "_Jump_."

"Three."

Elena ran to the edge of the cliff, and without a second thought, leaped into the air.

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**I had the idea for this chapter all perfectly laid out in my head, but when it came to type it... it didn't really come out right. Hope you liked it, though. The story's nearly finished, two chapters left! xox**


	14. Chapter 14

**I do not own anything in this story. The CW created the universe, and I just play in it.**

**This is my first fanfiction. Please rate and review!**

* * *

In movies, the heroine was always so graceful while falling to her death. The wind was always blowing her hair back in ways that defied gravity, her arms were always spread like eagle wings, and her face was always the portrait of serenity as she rushed to meet her maker.

Elena quickly found out that she most _definitely_ was not in a movie.

She screamed and thrashed as she sped towards the ground. Her hair whipped around her eyes, nearly blinding her from seeing the impossibly high treetops as they whizzed by her face. Her heart was beating impossibly fast, while her brain was screaming, _You're going to die!_

Something crashed into her from the side, and suddenly she wasn't just speeding down, but also to the left. Elena craned her neck around to see Damon, his arms threaded around her waist, and knew that he had just slammed into her at superhuman vampire speed.

"Damon," she screamed as the border of trees sped towards them. "What are you doing?" They were nearing the edge of the forest, and soon they would be flying at impossible speeds through trees mere feet apart.

"Elena," he shouted back, struggling to be heard over the sound of the air rushing past them. "Elena, I need you to trust me. Close your eyes, okay?"

"What are you doing?" Elena thrashed and struggled to turn around, but Damon's arms held her steady.

"Elena, close your eyes!"

"Damon!"

"Damn it, Elena, just trust me!"

Elena took a deep breath, and she closed her eyes.

_WHAM!_

Elena's eyes flew open, but all she could see was blue, blue, and blue.

_SPLASH!_

Suddenly, everything went black.

* * *

Water. It was filling her nose and ears and mouth, and she couldn't breathe.

Elena thrashed to the surface, coughing and choking. The first thought that came to her mind was that she was very wet and very, very cold. Somehow, she was in the middle of a smallish lake, and everything ached. Her face felt like one big bruise and her arms and legs like sore, wet noodles, and she was pretty sure she was missing a shoe. The second thought that came to her mind was that she was _alive._ Oh God, she was alive. How had Damon done it?

Damon! Elena's eyes snapped open, and she quickly scanned the water, searching for any sign of him. Her eyes landed on a small black heap, huddled underneath the trunk of a fallen tree, and she began paddling in that direction. "Damon? Damon!"

Once she reached shore, she stumbled over to where he was lying, unmoving. One shoulder was clearly disjointed, the arm broken in multiple places, and his face was covered in cuts and bruises. Blood was seeping out from under his shirt, pooling on the dirt beneath him. The tree behind him looked as if it had been snapped—both the stump and the end of the tree were a jagged mess of wood and splinters.

"Oh my God, Damon." Elena's teeth chattered from the cold as she fumbled for his wrist, checking for a pulse. _Get it together, Elena—he's a vampire, he won't _have_ a pulse. _"No, no, no, don't be dead, please don't be dead!" She tore open his shirt and jacket and gasped—a short branch nearly as thick as her arm had driven itself into the right side of Damon's chest, precariously near his heart. "No, no, oh God, no! Don't be dead, please don't be dead!"

She grabbed the branch, but her fingers were shaking too much to get a good grip. She blew on her hands, repositioned them on the branch, and in one swift motion ripped it out from his chest. Damon flew up, coughing blood and grimacing in pain as he moved his shattered arm. "Elena?"

"I'm fine, Damon, just sit back and take it easy." Elena helped him sit back against the fallen tree trunk. Already, blood had stopped flowing from the wound on his chest. "What happened?"

"Crashed into a tree," he said, wincing as he popped his shoulder back into place. "I didn't have much time so I threw you into the lake."

Elena turned around to look at the lake. It was tiny—the word _pond _would've been more appropriate—but it had been surprisingly deep. At the far end, nearer the forest, was a beautiful waterfall, framed by boulders and mossy grass. "That's the waterfall from Annora's pool."

"Well, duh." Damon unsteadily got to his feet. "Are you okay? Broken bones, concussion, anything?"

"I'm okay, Damon."

"Well, your face begs to differ." Elena touched her cheek gently, and was promptly surprised when her fingers came away bloody. "And you look pretty banged up too." Damon rolled his sleeve back and sank his fangs into his own wrist. "Here, bon appétit."

Elena gave him a look before drinking his blood. "Ugh, Damon, I can't do this. It feels wrong." She pulled away.

"Why, because of _Stefan?"_ Damon rolled his eyes. "I thought you guys were broken up."

Elena stared at him. "No, because I'm _drinking_ someone's _blood_." He gave her a half-smile but didn't say anything. "What, no snarky comeback this time?"

"Look, Elena." Damon took a step forward, so that he was inches away from her. "What you did back there, standing up to Annora…"

"Don't do this, Damon." Elena looked away. "I wanted to save your life, okay? There's nothing in the world that would've made me leave that mountain."

"You could've died. Annora was ready to rip your heart out." His voice rose with anger.

"But she didn't, did she? Can you please just drop it?"

"You risked your life, Elena! And for what? _Me?"_

"Don't you get it? I had to stay." Elena forced herself to look up, to meet his eyes. They were blazing with anger. "Because I love you, Damon."

Damon froze, and for a second it was like the whole world had stopped.

"I love you, Damon," Elena repeated, reaching up and resting her arms around his neck.

"And I love you too, Elena." He leaned down and kissed her. She kissed him back, feeling his tongue slip across her lips, the taste of her name in his mouth. Suddenly, he pulled back.

"But what you did up there was still very, very stupid."

"Oh, shut up," she smiled, and pulled him in for another kiss.

* * *

**One chapter left! It probably won't be up for a day or two - I'm going on vacation tomorrow, and my internet connection will be a little spotty. But all cliffhangers are over, and I hope everyone's enjoyed my story! xox**


	15. Chapter 15

**I do not own anything in this story. The CW created the universe, and I just play in it.**

**This is my first fanfiction. Please rate and review!**

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Elena pushed open the door to their room, her lips still glued to Damon's as she slowly worked his shirt up over his head. He kissed her back even harder, his hands wrapping around her waist as they fell backwards onto the bed. Elena buried her hands in his hair and sighed happily as he kissed his way down her neck.

"We can't do this," she breathed as Damon's hands wandered over her stomach, stroking her skin with completely unDamon-like gentleness.

"Shhh, Elena," he murmured, his head still buried in her neck.

"Damon." Elena pushed him off her neck and framed his face with her hands. "I can't do this."

Damon groaned, rolling off her and slinging his arm around her shoulders. "Let me guess. It's because of Stefan, isn't it."

"You know I love you," Elena began, "but-"

"But," Damon finished, "you love him too."

"He was there for me when I need him," Elena said, not looking Damon in the eye. "I can't just let go of him that easily." Something in Damon's expression darkened, and Elena quickly added, "But there's no denying that I love you, Damon. It's just that I do love you both, and I know it's wrong and I shouldn't, but I do."

Damon sighed, and for a long time neither of them said anything. Finally, he said, "Stefan's right for you, Elena."

"What?" Elena turned to look at him.

"He deserves you so much more than I do, and I can't be selfish with you." He stroked her cheek with the same gentleness as before. "I want you to be happy, and I want my brother to be happy, even if it means...even if it means I lose you."

"But I don't want to lose you," Elena cried, grabbing his hand. "If choosing Stefan means losing you, and choosing you means losing Stefan, then I don't want to choose."

"Elena, you know you have to, and it might as well be him."

"Don't say that, Damon." Elena blinked back tears, and then suddenly, she sat up. Something was wrong. In the split second she'd closed her eyes, Damon had taken her vervain necklace. "Damon, where's my necklace?"

There were tears in Damon's eyes, something Elena had never seen before. He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye. "Elena, I want you to be happy with Stefan."

"Damon, no, you can't compel me!" Elena protested, but Damon just widened her eyes and she fell silent.

"I want you to go back to my brother," Damon continued, tears now flowing freely down his face. "I want you to forget about everything and anything you've ever felt for me. Forget that this trip ever happened, forget everything that happened after you opened your porch door two days ago. Forget about Annora and the cure, and most of all forget that you ever loved me."

Elena nodded, still under his compulsion.

"And now, I want you to keep your mind completely blank until we get back to Mystic Falls. Don't think about anything, just keep your mind blank." Damon was crying now. Actually _crying. _He leaned down and kissed Elena, slowly and softly. "I love you so much, Elena.

* * *

_Thump. Thump. _

Elena looked up from her book. She was in her own house, curled up in her favorite chair, reading _The Great Gatsby_ just like she remembered, but for some reason, she felt like she'd blanked out. It was ridiculous to think something like that, because she'd been in the very same chair for over an hour, but it just _felt _like an entire day, maybe more, had gone by. _Impossible._ She'd probably been in a daydream or something.

The front door flew open, and in a heartbeat Caroline was standing in front of Elena. Her face was one full of pain, and Elena immediately assumed the worst. "What? What happened?"

Damon had just told Caroline what had happened in Boyce, and what he'd done to Elena. But what Damon hadn't known was what had been going on in Mystic Falls while he'd been gone. "Look, Elena, this is going to sound crazy and random and completely disjointed, but there's something I have to tell you."

"Okay..." Elena slowly sat back down. "What's wrong? Is it Stefan?"

Caroline gave her a tight-lipped nod. "Damon was bitten by Tyler, but it's all right, he's okay now because he drank Klaus's blood. But Stefan...Stefan gave himself over to Klaus in exchange for the cure for the werewolf bite."

"What?" Elena stared at her friend, not understanding. "What did you say?"

"Elena, he's Klaus's henchman now. I don't know what Klaus did to him, but...he's gone."

"No." Elena shook her head. "No, no, no. Caroline, we have to do something, we have to save Stefan! We have to get him back from Klaus! I can't lose him, Caroline, I can't."

"Shhh, it's okay, Elena," Caroline said. She was crying now, too, but her tears were for a completely different reason. She was imagining the look on Damon's face, the heartbroken one he'd worn when he'd told her what happened. "It's okay, Elena, we'll find Stefan and it'll all be okay."

"Come on." Elena stood up and grabbed her jacket. "Come on, we have to go find Damon. We have to find Alaric, and-and Bonnie, and Jeremy. I can't lose Stefan, Caroline. I _love_ _him!_"

"I know you do," Caroline said softly, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I know you do."

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**A humongous thank you to everyone who favorited/reviewed my story, and another enormous thank you to anyone who even read my story in the first place. I love, ****_love_**** you guys so much! This story is probably the only story I've ever written that I actually finished, and I have you guys to thank for that. Hope you've enjoyed it from start to finish! xox**


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